Many different types of weighing scales are known in which objects to be weighed are placed on a platform and the weight is recorded on a dial which is in said platform as, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,243,002, or where the dial from which the weight is read is on the side of a supporting structure as, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,066,624, 2,287,814, 2,408,942, 2,420,639 and 3,592,277.
Under some circumstances it is desirable to read the dial of the weighing scale directly from above as well as from the side even when the normal weighing surface is covered by the object to be weighed. Thus, in the case of a bathroom type scale such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,243,002, it is possible for a person standing on the scale to read the dial from above but the dial could not be read if the weighing surface or platform were covered with an object or package to be weighed.
Personal weighing scales are also known where the dial is mounted independently of the platform on a post or other superstructure but such scales are more costly to manufacture.
Many other types of scales are known such as beam scales which are relatively expensive to manufacture as illustrated, for example, by U.S. Pat. No. 3,743,040.
There is a need for readily portable weighing scales which are relatively small and compact and which can be read from above or the side when a package or other object is placed on the weighing surface of the weighing platform so that it would or could cover said surface. A specific example of this is where a weighing scale is used to monitor the contents of a vessel or container, the contents of which are being withdrawn or allowed to escape as, for instance, cylinders of oxygen or other gases.